Breaking Waves: Ocean News

The 67- and 61-year-old sea cows have been at the Miami Seaquarium since 1956 and will be moved to a sanctuary The decades-long captivity of two ageing manatees in “ever deteriorating conditions” at a Florida theme park will soon be over after the intervention of federal wildlife authorities and a campaign by animal rights activists for the mammals to be freed. Romeo, a 67-year-old sea cow, and a female named Juliet, 61, have been at the Miami Seaquarium since being “rescued” as calves in 1956, but will be moved to sanctuary elsewhere perhaps as early as next week, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) told the Guardian. Continue reading...

As Cop28 gets under way, it is vital that corporations and richer nations invest in the global south Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber is president of the Cop28 United Nations climate change conference and William Ruto is president of Kenya Without urgent action to bolster green jobs in developing economies, the collective action needed to win the fight against climate change will remain elusive. Developing nations face a number of socioeconomic challenges, forcing them to tighten spending. More people worldwide are living in hunger, and 2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water at home. More than 60% of low-income countries are in, or at high risk of, debt distress, while access to capital is limited and the cost of borrowing prohibitive. This leaves minimal room for the debt creation and spending needed to fund climate action. Green industrialisation presents an opportunity for developing nations to achieve socioeconomic transformation by combining environmental stewardship and economic progress. It offers a pathway for sustainable and inclusive growth and can address these structural challenges by improving access to energy, industrialisation and diversification, and growing employment. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber is president of the Cop28 United Nations climate change conference William Ruto is president of Kenya Cop28: Can fossil fuel companies transition to clean energy?On Tuesday 5 December, 8pm-9.15pm GMT, join Damian Carrington, Christiana Figueres, Tessa Khan and Mike Coffin for a livestreamed discussion on whether fossil fuel companies can transition to clean energy. Book tickets here or at theguardian.live Continue reading...

Climate-related disasters disproportionately affect women and girls as reproductive services crumble and gender-based violence rises The climate crisis threatens the chances of gender equality being achieved in the countries most vulnerable to global heating, the UN has said. As Cop28 opens in Dubai, UNFPA, the UN’s reproductive and maternal health agency, released data showing that the 14 countries most at risk from the effects of the climate crisis are also those where women and girls are more likely to die in childbirth, marry early, experience gender-based violence or be displaced by disaster. Continue reading...

Our nature series Young Country Diary is looking for pieces written by children about their winter wildlife adventures Once again, the Young Country Diary series is open for submissions! Every three months, as the UK enters a new season, we ask you to send us a piece written by a child aged 8-14. The article needs to be about a recent encounter they’ve had with nature – whether it’s a chilly robin, a hungry hedgehog or a thriving rockpool. Continue reading...